One Night Only
by FinalFantasyHearts-Rinsaito
Summary: What if Alice gave Jacob Black the chance to see his life as it would have been without Edward? If Edward had died in Italy? If he was given Twenty-Four hours with a Bella who wasn't crying over her vampire lover? What would he find?
1. Sweet Sugar

One Night Only

Sweet Sugar

What if, for one entire day Edward Cullen didn't exist, and Jacob Black could see what his life would be like without him. Assuming that in that one day Edward had died in Italy. What would Jacob find?

Jacob blinked quickly. What had happened? And, more importantly-where was he? He sat up in bed and looked around. It was his room, in his house; but it felt small, claustrophobic, cramped, the walls closing in on him. Then he remembered, Bella had left. Left to go and find the blood-sucker. That utter 'slimey git' to quote Ron Wealsey in Harry Potter.

"Jake?" shouted a distinctly female voice from the living room. He pushed back the covers and stood up, moving to the door of his bedroom and leaning against the door frame. Staring.

Bella Swan sat in the living room, a smile on her face, talking to Billy.

"Bels?" Jacob murmured, uncertainly. Hadn't he seen her leave to go and save her little vampire, only the day before? Hadn't he been left alone in forks, because she loved Edward?

"I thought you were in Italy..." Bella stared at him, blankly.

"Italy? Jake, why would I be in Italy? Don't be silly." Jacob coughed, had he imagined it? Was this real...or was this simply a dream? Cautiously he pinched himself and found that he was -as he'd hoped- awake.

Billy grinned at him, wheeling his way past his son and into the kitchen. Patting his arm slightly as he passed. Jacob suddenly smiled widely.

"Bels!" Bella looked startled as Jacob moved across the room and picked her up in a bear hug. She giggled.

"Jake, what are you doing?" he shook his head

"I couldn't possibly say, Bella. I'm just really happy to see you. That's all," she sighed, kissing his cheek lightly.

"I'll always be here, Jake. You know that."

**

Alice Cullen sighed, it was such a nice scene, but it couldn't go on.

"Jacob Black, come here" she commanded. Jacob turned, puzzled, then upon seeing the vampire, snarled.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm helping you-so don't snarl at me, please" she replied slowly.

"Helping? You took Bella with you last time you-"

"I'm showing you what might have been, Jacob. This can't last-you know that. Bella and Edward they..." Jacob growled

"Shut-up! Bella and Edward are...what? Forever? So in love he left her? He's a sick monster, and she's better off without him!" Alice sighed sadly, and nodded.

"That may well be the case. But, as it is, Bella choses him, not you."

"Then, what's going on?" he asked desperately "and why can't they see you? You're not a freaking ghost!" she chuckled

"No, I'm not. I'm here because I'm showing you what would have happened if Bella had chosen you-if I hadn't been so foolish as to think she had died and come back to Forks," she shrugged "I suppose I owe you this much because I was the one who took your happiness away." Jacob choked.

"What does it matter? Why show me what I could have had, and then take it away? That's worse-so much worse, than letting me go on in ignorance!"

"In your case, going on in ignorance would only damage your low intelligance level futhur. Stupid dog." Rosalie drawled, as she walked into the room.

"What the?! Okay, I got why you were here-you have all that freaky-deaky 'I can see the future' crap, but her? She's just an annoying, bitchy, bimbo-why's she here?" Rosalie hissed at him, and Alice groaned.

"Jacob, don't fight with Rosalie-you're wasting time. I've given you twenty-four hours with Bella, as if Edward had died."

"Edward's dead?" Jacob asked, a little too happily.

"Not in real life-idiot!"

"Shut-up, blondie" he added casually as she began to speak. "So, I can talk to her about things?" Alice nodded with a smile.

"A whole Twenty-four hours, with bella, no blood-sucker and nothing to make her upset. Amazing!" if it hadn't been for the fact that Alice too, was a vampire, he'd have kissed her.

"But," added another voice, Jacob found his nostrils burning and knew that yet again he was being addressed by one of the vampires. Just his luck.

Jasper tilted his head to the side, looking concerned, Jacob began to feel a disturbingly calm aura sweep over him. He hated the blood suckers, with their strange magic tricks and stunning beauty. Jasper's blonde hair flopped over his forehead and he frowned at the shape-shifter. "But, you can't let on about this." he stared at the vampire with bemusement.

"Why not? It will end after a day..." Alice grimaced. "What?Why are you making that face?!"

"Well, Jacob. You see, there's a chance that Bella may just remember this afterwards..." he grinned

"Really? That's great!" Rosalie glared at him

"No, it's not. It's bad, I told Alice this was a stupid idea-but would you listen to me/" she asked, turning to Alice angrily "No, you know best don't you?!" Alice smiled at her sweetly.

"I always know best, Rosalie." Jasper wrapped his arm around Alice's waist, chuckling softly.

"In any case," Emmett told him, placing a soothing hand on Rosalie's shoulder, which she melted into-if rather reluctantly. " it is bad potentially, as Rosalie said. Basically, some of the things you say might make Bella forget all about Edward and..."

"What do I say, and where do I sing up to the Alice fan-club?" Jacob asked quickly. Only Jasper and Alice found this funny, Rosalie glared at him and Emmett tried his best to hide his amusement.

"Look, if Bells forgets Edward there will be hell to pay, buddy. " Jacob nodded forlornly

"What if she remembers?"

"Then she remembers and we explain to her what Alice suggested" Jasper told him simply.

"Just like that?" Jasper nodded

"Just like that." the werewolf simply nodded

"Is that it then? Twenty-four hours from now? No interference from you guys? No spying either?" Rosalie raised a perfect eyebrow.

"Why? What did you plan on doing?" he chuckled, crossing his arms across his wide, muscular chest.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Rosalie jumped towards him, teeth bared. Deftly, Emmett picked her up and turned her around, depositing her on her feet behind him. Emmett kissed her forehead gently and turned back to Jacob.

"No interference from us. We promise." Jacob's brow furrowed as he looked from one vampire to the next.

"Even Rosalie won't do anything." Alice assured him when his dark eyes lingered on her pouting, albeit pretty, face.

"Okay...I can't see anything wrong with this deal. Twenty-four hours with Bella. No Edward. No Vampires. No spying. Colour me impressed and in." Alice held out her ice white hand for him to shake, he stared at it then huffed. "You really want me to touch you?" she grinned.

"You do smell utterly vile, but I'm sure it's the same for you. Anyway, for today this is a truce. For you and Bella. If you shake my hand we're making sure you don't get hurt." He failed to see what Alice was trying to say-as if he could get hurt! But he took her hand an shook it quickly. He wiped in on his trousers straight after however.

"Have a good day" Jasper told him, with a small smile. Maybe that one wasn't too bad, thought Jacob. The four vampires left, Jacob wasn't looking long enough to see how. His attention was already back on Bella.

"Only one day..." he muttered to himself.


	2. Start Over

AN: Thank-you so much for the reviews and favourites-I really appreciate them!

Disclaimer: Titles are songs names from the album 'Started a Fire' Many thanks to _One Night Only_ for having such good song names! And band name… haha.

Sorry this chapter is short-I promise more in chapter three!

Start Over

"Yeah, 'course..." Jacob replied as he turned back to Bella. She grinned, skipping over to the doorway. "Where are you going?" he protested quickly, wondering if, already, Bella was leaving him.

"Well, are we going to see Sam and Emily or not?" she asked, laughing at his stupidity.

"Oh, yeah. Sure..." Jacob pulled on a shirt, and then shrugged on his thick coat-you couldn't be too careful with the weather. Bella pulled on her own coat and, after waving goodbye to Billy they left.

"Can we take the truck?" she asked, breathless with excitement.

"Sure, Bells." he laughed, wondering how Bella had become so full of energy "But I'll drive if that's okay." she nodded happily and climbed into the red truck. He chuckled to himself

"That was easy..." he made is way around the Chevy to the driver's seat, and got in.

"Okay, then," Jacob said suddenly, grabbing the wheel and taking the key to the ignition when Bella handed it to him. "Thanks." She smiled sweetly at him, and Jacob had to look away, blushing. How was it, that now she was giving him attention he became embarrassed?

Jacob's mind was working quickly, he wasn't sure what had happened before now and if, if there was no Edward anymore...had he fixed the bikes with Bella? He wondered what had changed, but this was an illusion...an illusion he had complete control of...

They reached Sam's house quickly, and piled out of the car. Bella waited for him carefully, and when he joined her on her side of the car they walked up the drive. She took his hand lightly in hers, and Jacob was so pleased he almost forgot to look where he was going. She stared up at him unblinkingly, more than a little embarrassed and smiled uncertainly. He grinned back.

"Jake! Bella!" Emily exclaimed happily when she answered the door. Her poor, partially disfigured face, displaying genuine excitement upon seeing the pair. "Come in,"

The entered behind the girl and were greeted by a grinning Sam and Embry sitting on the sofa, eating what appeared to be the contents of the fridge...or possibly two.

"Jake!" Sam greeted him warmly; Embry merely waved a preoccupied hand towards them and continued to devour his spoils.

They spent the next hour enjoying a baseball match, where Bella had to sit on Jacob's lap because there wasn't enough room on the sofa...possibly a premeditated move on the part of the rest of the pack. Jacob only suspected this because Embry had insisted his food needed the entire other sofa to sit on, and Sam and Emily and made sure there was no room for Bella to sit between anyone.

Not that Jacob minded terribly about it, in fact, to him it was like heaven. If only Edward Cullen really had died, maybe he would have had more of a chance than he had ever dreamed.

Jacob still had an entire twenty three hours, he knew it may seem like a lot, but he couldn't bear to waste time he could spend with Bella. After the baseball, he stood up, moving Bella gently from his lap and onto the sofa. She looked up at him pathetically, he groaned inwardly-she was far too cute for her own good.

"Are you leaving?" he nodded sullenly, and was surprised when she sighed. Jacob walked into the kitchen and thanked Sam and Emily for having being so hospitable.

"Jake, you're one of the pack-we're family. Don't be stupid, there's no need to thank us." Sam laughed. He shrugged, a little embarrassed, and was rewarded by a kiss on the cheek from Emily. Jacob grinned at her gratefully.

"You win that girl over, Jake. Bella likes you too" he chuckled, if only they knew the half of it in the real reality. There, Bella loved Edward Cullen, and only Edward Cullen- a blood sucker and, in Jacob's opinion, all around sissy boy.

"Sure thing, Em. It's what I've always planned to do." She patted his arm lightly and he turned, leaving the tidy kitchen behind him.

Bella sat a little uneasily on the edge of the sofa, starting at her hands, he couldn't help but smile. He stood there for several minutes, just looking before he did anything. He grabbed his own coat, then walked over, depositing her own coat on her head.

"Huh?" squeaked the girl from beneath her waterproof, tugging it off her hair she turned to see him. Jacob cross his arm bemusedly.

"Staying here then? " he asked jokily, Bella shook her head and jumped to her feet.

"I didn't think you wanted me to come too," he chuckled

"Firstly, Bella, it's your truck we came in, and secondly, why wouldn't I?" she blinked several times, then decided to look at her feet, shifting her weight from one to the other hypnotically.

"I don't know..." she mumbled, Jacob grinned. He was glad she was this embarrassed and still he felt slightly bad for causing it.

He was amazed to find how different Bella was when she wasn't either weeping over Edward leaving, on a mission to save Edward, or depressed about the rain. All in all, he was seeing the Bella he loved. The shy, happy girl, who never did anything she thought would upset people...well, unless it involved Edward Cullen-then, it didn't seem to matter who she hurt.

He didn't blame her, though. He blamed Edward!

They left the house, shouting swift goodbyes to Emily, Sam and Embry before getting back into the Chevy. He sat in the driving seat for several moments, considering what he could do today with Bella to show her how much he cared-and perhaps make her chose him this time. After all, the other Cullens had said she might remember, well, without doing anything rash- because he didn't trust them not to keep watch, even when they had said they wouldn't- he might just be able to change whom she would chose.

He smiled to himself. La push...perfect.

He had another twenty three hours of the day left, he would make every one count as much as possible. He turned the ignition and they left.

Here was where everything would begin that day, everything he could change, he would start to change now...


	3. You And Me

You And Me

Jacob and Bella reached the beach twenty minutes later, Jacob becoming more aware that he should monitor the time more closely than approximating his remainder. Bella seemed ecstatic to be at the beach, and, he watched from the sidelines with an amused superiority, as Bella threw off her shoes and ran down to the sand, laughing as she did so.

He grinned, and watched happily as she played at the water's edge. This was the Bella he loved to see, the one who could have fun, let go, be herself without caring what others thought...

He wondered if that was what Edward loved about her the most too.

Bella returned to him after several minutes, her clothes dripping wet, and her hair plastered to her face with sea water. Jacob bit his lip to stop himself from laughing.

"What did you do-go swimming?" Bella grinned from under her hair, pulling the damp tendrils from her skin, and laughing.

"Yes, because everyone goes swimming in winter, Jacob" she replied sarcastically, as she tried to make her hair do something other than hang limply like road kill.

"Ah, but, Bella dear- Everyone goes paddling too" she frowned.

"Good point," she sat down next to him huffily, and he chuckled.

"I know" he told her, teasing her hair around his finger, making it curl

"That doesn't mean you've won." she informed him tartly, but he could see she was grinning so he wasn't worried he may have upset her.

"Thinking of a good come-back, are we?" he asked, as he idly began to plait her dark hair.

"Jakeeee" she whined at him

"What? You have to think of your own come-backs, Bella. You can't ask the person you're arguing with for one." he winked and she laughed, looking down at her hair

"You're pretty good at this, you know?" Jacob smiled

"I'm pretty good at a lot of things you don't know about" she chuckled, moving so he could plait the rest of her damp hair.

"Let me guess- secretly, you're an extreme sports presenter and you have your own TV show?"

"Awww, now you've gone and ruined the surprise" he teased.

"Okay, seriously though, what else can you do-secret talents?" Jacob bit his lip, resisting the urge to elaborate on what could be perceived in several different ways when he thought about what he had said, and meant earlier. That statement of his presented the opportunity to tease Bella, but he didn't think she'd care for being teased.

"Hmm…what kind of talents?" he asked, finally. Bella half-looked at him over her shoulder and shrugged.

"I don't know-I want to know more about you. You're my best friend after all." He nodded, thinking what he could tell her.

"I can roll my tongue…"

"Oh, so can I!" Bella exclaimed, turning to him with a childish grin. "Show me"

"Show you?" he grinned "Bella, if you were that desperate to look at my tongue, all you had to do was ask"

"Very funny," she replied, poking him in the side. He felt silly sitting on the beach in the middle of winter, and being requested to roll his tongue for Bella's amusement-that girl sure got amusement from the strangest things….maybe that was why she liked Edward…

His mind wandered into dangerous territory, and he was jerked back to the 'present' by Bella whining at him.

"Okay, Bells" he sighed, rolling his tongue for her. "I showed you mine…" he said with a wink.

"Yeah, yeah-no sick jokes please, Jake" she rolled her tongue quickly and Jacob wondered if it was possible to roll your tongue seductively…Bella certainly managed it. Damn her.

"So, do you have any special talents?" Bella thought about it

"I have double jointed fingers…"

"Really? Ew" Bella laughed

"Thanks, Jake" he blushed slightly, embarrassed by his own squeamishness

"Sorry, I just find it a bit odd" she shrugged

"I am odd." she told him, with a smile

"No more so than I am" he replied with a sigh. After all, he was the werewolf in the equation-though, at least that was marginally less odd than being a vampire.

"Favourite colour?" Bella asked an hour later-roughly twenty left.

"Would saying Black be silly- because of my name?" she shrugged

"Only if it isn't your favourite colour, I suppose."

"At school, if someone asked, I'd always choose a random colour- because of my surname being Black" Bella sighed

"Peer pressure, Jake-stand up to the man!" he stared at her for a moment, her expression so serious that he couldn't help but laugh.

"You've been watching too many movies" she shrugged

"Maybe…"

"School of Rock and Stick It" it laughed

"Nope-Ten Things I Hate About You, actually" she replied with a grin.

"Does that even have anything to do with peer pressure?" he asked dubiously

"I wasn't really watching it when I watched it" she confessed, Jacob sighed and decided to move on.

"Okay, my turn. Favourite books?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but I have read Wuthering Heights several times" Jacob nodded, not sure how to respond. "You?"

"Anything that's your favourite" he replied, firstly, because he'd heard the line in a film…and it had worked rather well for the guy then. Secondly, because Jacob wasn't someone who had the time to spend reading, even if he had wanted to. Bella blushed scarlet and looked at her feet.

"That's…nice" Jacob looked down at her, and rolled his eyes-she was one in a million, that was for sure.

"_Baby, baby, love me, kiss me, kiss me, baby. I will never let you down in my life. Love me, love me baby, now my heart is ready-I will never make you cry." _Jacob sang slowly to himself, Bella looked up at him and smiled.

"You never told me you could sing…"

"Anything for you,"

Author's Note: Did I do anything wrong this time?


	4. Time

Time

"Jake," Bella murmured after a couple of hours - Jacob was cursing himself as he was only at approximation, around eighteen hours now...

They had spent the morning, and early afternoon, building sand castles and eating sandwiches they had picked up on the way over to the beach. Everything was going too slowly for Jacob, he had so much he needed to say to Bella, while her head wasn't fogged by Edward Cullen this, and Edward Cullen that and 'Edward is cool', not to mention the 'I love Edward' - Lucky git, was all Jacob could think.

But, the question was, how did you bring something like that up?

'Oh, Bella, I just wondered - are you always going to be in love with that git Edward, or do you like me?' he'd have better luck going up to Rosalie and attempting to shave off her perfect blonde hair...he wondered what happened to vampire hair...did it continue to grow? Or did it just stay the same like their bodies...and, if so, could be shave Rosalie's head without her killing him? He liked the idea a lot...he would have to pursue it later on..

Jacob was become frustrated with his life, and with being unable to say things he needed to to Bella...what was he supposed to do? There was no way a guy like him...a human...well, essentially human, guy could compare to Edward Cullen the almighty know-it-all vampire who did things that were 'For Bella's own good'. Edward really was a bastard. Jacob gritted his teeth - if he was horrible about Edward that wouldn't help his cause anymore than any of the other things he had tried...and he had tried a lot of things to woo Bella...none of them in the least bit successful. Damn.

He looked up, suddenly realising that Bella had addressed him. They were sitting on a cold, stone wall by the side of the sandy, slightly overcast, beach. He was sitting staring out to sea, and Bella was sat next to him, her head resting on his shoulder. Was that a friendly kind of 'head resting on shoulder' or a 'I like you head resting on shoulder'? Jacob suddenly realised what it must be like to be a teenage girl, and regretted ever saying that the whole dating , or liking someone thing was easy-it wasn't. Maybe he was being punished, because he had thought that? But, really, for God to give him a vampire to compete with was just plain mean...sadistic even! Not that the concept was supposed to be possible of God...maybe, Jacob considered, he was being stalked my Lucifer, and this was why bad things invariably happened to him?

No. Maybe, just maybe, he was just the most unlucky boy/werewolf on the face of the planet, who just happened to be in this situation. Maybe? But, God, well, Alice Cullen actually-but in Jacob's opinion she should now be considered God..or Jesus...or something profound, because he actually loved this vampire now! In any case, she had given him a chance with Bella, only she knew why, and, no doubt, she had her own reasons. He was lucky for that-not many people could say they'd had the past changed for them, albeit temporarily.

"Yes?," Jacob replied, looking down at her with a mix of resentment for being over-looked, and extreme affection.

Bella smiled, "What's wrong?," he shrugged , a little uncomfortably....he couldn't very well say that he'd been thinking of shaving her boyfriends sister's hair off just to see if it could grow back...if not Rosalie would be eternally bald...that would have amused him.

He shook his head slightly, "No, nothing's wrong-why?" She pouted at him, but didn't disagree.

"You looked sad, and," she moved her finger tips to his forehead gently, touching the skin where his brow furrowed and making him relax "you were frowning. Don't frown, you look nicer when you smile, Jacob." she removed her hand, but the feeling of her touch lingered for the werewolf, he wondered if he might be going mad, as he felt the skin tingled uncomfortably, as if he'd been given an electric shock from static.

Automatically Jacob smiled, she smiled back at him "There you go."

He sighed softly, a little disappointed, he would have made that moment amazing, if he had been in a movie. Or, even better, if he had been a director, and he knew what Bella was thinking and feeling, it would have been a good scene in a movie...

As the scene played out in Jacob Black's mind, he grinned at her, she chuckled at his sudden happiness and they began to chat about a pleasant nothingness. Perhaps, that was why, lurking in the shadows, wearing dark sunglasses, a leather trench coat and in complete black...they didn't notice they were being watched.

Author Note: Sorry, it's rather short. Any problems in this chapter?


	5. Hide

Hide

Bella looked up for a moment, something dark and brooding catching at the corner of her vision and attracting her attention. It moved, too fast for her pitiful human eyes to follow with any degree of accuracy, and vanished completely. She sighed, it must have been her imagination...but, of what? She couldn't place what she had thought for a moment, a memory tugging at the back of her mind, niggling doubt eating away at her. What was it she had forgotten?

Well, if she couldn't remember, it couldn't have been that important. Could it?

Jacob was staring at her when she turned her gaze back towards him, he quickly lowered his eyes, apparently thinking she hadn't noticed. Honestly. She smiled at him, rolling her eyes and he began to speak, as usual, Bella was happy to listen.

"Bells,"

"Yes?" Jacob frowned slightly, examining the palm of his hand with sudden interest as he avoided looking at her while speaking.

"Well, I wondered...if, you remembered..." he swallowed hard, not sure whether or not the 'spell' Alice had woven for him would just fall apart if he even mentioned Edward. But, the feeling of uncertainty that because Edward was forgotten made him the best was not pleasing. Because, he wanted to win over Edward, childish he knew, but, what could he say? He was jealous. Very jealous, of the so called 'perfect' vampire.

Bella watched him as he tried to word what he needed to say, puzzled by his sudden change in mood, but wishing he would just get over and say what he wanted to.

"Do I remember, what?" she prompted, hopefully.

Jacob closed his eyes, ready for the dream to end as soon as he voiced his question, and accepting it. Unwillingly. But, he had to know.

"Do you remember Edward Cullen?"

Several seconds passed, and nothing obvious happened. There were no crashing sounds...but, he didn't know what a dream sounded like when it fell apart. Or a spell..or whatever it was Alice had managed to do. It was beyond him, anyway. Cautiously, he opened an eye, looking around for signs of chucks of missing sky, and data particles floating around. Nothing. Well, nothing had changed at least.

He turned, very slowly...in case the 'dream/spell' was waiting for him to move in order to shatter into a million tiny pieces around him, and rested his gaze on his best friend. She was still there. Still Bella, normal, but her face was masked with shock.

Okay...maybe she did remember Edward after all.

He cursed under his breath, but knew he had to hear her say the words.

"You do?" Bella blinked stupidly, shaking her head to bring herself back from her dreamworld. She nodded, only slightly, but it was still a nod. A confirmation. What Jacob couldn't tell, was whether or not she actually still preferred Edward.

"Of course, I remember him." She said flatly, and Jacob's heart turned to ice, he didn't want to hear anymore. He'd convinced himself it was better to know the truth, and he'd never given up before, in all that time, when she had been like a zombie. But, knowing that she still loved Edward after all of that made him want to scream, to rip the 'pretty boy' limb from undead limb and then have a nice bonfire in the middle of nowhere. Maybe roast a few marshmallows...

His hands curled to angry fists, glaring at empty space, his face drawing down the shutters, keeping Bella out this time.

"Too bad then." He said briskly. Bella noticed the abrupt change from nervous, to angry and frowned concernedly.

"Why? I mean, he's gone – it doesn't matter." Jacob glared at her coldly, but, even as he did so feeling anger with himself creeping up to rival that at Edward, and her love from him.

"You still love him, Bella. Of course it freakin' matters." The brunette shook her head, not following his train of thought at all.

"No, Jake."

"No? No, what?" He asked, too angry to be hopeful, too used to rejection to give up though. But he wouldn't call it hope, more fear. Of understanding her, and knowing her choice was right, and her choice wouldn't be him.

"I don't love him," and then, Jacob Black almost fainted...he was torn between that, and performing a victory dance. He refrained from both, for Bella's benefit. _Anyway_, he was forced to remind himself, _It's not real, it'll all disappear within the next few hours..._

"You don't?"

Bella nodded, "After everything, I realised I was better of moving on from him, and I can't be in love with someone who doesn't love me back. He made that much clear when he left." Jacob nodded, a smile creeping across his face despite himself. He was too pleased for words.

"So, you don't love him...but, are you giving up all together?" He asked because he cared, because, even if she didn't love him, it didn't mean he wanted her to be alone, and miserable.

"On what?"

He grinned, wondering how he, the male of the equation, was the one talking about feelings, "Love." She chuckled, seeing the irony herself and shook her head.

"No, of course not. Just because you fall in love, doesn't mean that you can't fall in love again." Jacob nodded.

"With whom?" She grinned cheekily.

"Why, some deliciously gorgeous Spanish, or Latino guy, who'll sweep me off my feet and away to his homeland."

"Which will turn out to be Poland, and that he's a convicted serial killer." Bella waved a hand dismissively.

"Details, details."

"Yes, picky with those types of details strangely enough." Jacob teased.

"So, seriously, have you been worried then?"

He nodded, admitting it to himself for the...he'd lost count actually. "Yes, of course I was."

"Do you always worry?"

He sighed, nodding, "Yes, it's infuriating."

"Tried giving up?" she laughed

"I think it's an addiction..."

"Like heroin?"

"You're not that good." he winked and the seriousness of the mood minutes before dissolved.

For a second, Jacob felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise, there was something he should have noticed lurking near-by. He had been ill advised to let Bella distract him so very easily, possibly putting her in danger because of her own foolish, natural charm. He let his head turn just enough to see the in area the watcher stood. Silent as the grave. He bit his lip, probably truer than the saying meant it.

He spotted the dark figure, his eyes better trained than Bella's to trace the image. Vampire. He resisted the urge to grab his throat, as it began to burn like acid, the stench of the vampire beginning to get to him. How had he not noticed? And then he knew, placing piece by piece together, into the simple, but devious puzzle that was his situation.

"Why don't you come and join us," he began, calling out behind him, across his shoulder "Edward?"

Edward Cullen emerged from the dark, inky pools, a smile gently sitting on his lips. He began to glimmer slightly, the sun now begin low enough in the sky to make the cloud cover of no use. Almost twilight.

"You knew?" Jacob shrugged, tempted to pretend he had, but knowing full well that Edward could read his thoughts anyway, there was no fooling the vampire here. Not with him poking around the content of his mind.

"Well, doesn't that just sound like a _Murder She Wrote_?" Jacob chuckled, Edward smiled politely, he didn't care though.

Bella sat in shock, watching the shimmering boy wearily with her dark eyes. She wasn't happy about the situation, Jacob could tell. You didn't have to be a mind reader to know that.

"Alice set this up, for you, didn't she?" Edward grinned, his two rows of perfect teeth flashing...if only slightly menacingly.

"No, quite to the contrary, I forbade her."

"Didn't want to know what life was like without you?" The werewolf retorted.

Edward ignored him, moving towards Bella slowly, human paced. He knelt in front of her and took her hand in his, caressing the pale skin as he spoke.

"Bella, Alice changed things...and now it's as if I wasn't around, but, that's not true. I've always loved you and I always will. I promise."

"Edward Cullen! You little brat!" Alice appeared, her bob messed angrily, her hands firmly planted on her hips, staring up at him unflinchingly when he turned to her, rising to his full height once more.

"Alice?" he smiled, "You know you don't want this to happen-" Alice raised a warning finger.

"Keep quiet you, I'll see to you later." Edward, if possible, looked a little scared at this.

"But, Alice-"

"I said sush! Edward, you're my brother and all, and yes, I do love you. But, for once, just keep your mouth closed and stop being annoying." Edward blinked, obviously mortified to have been called ' annoying'. Jacob grinned to himself.

"And, you can stop smiling, Jacob Black," Alice ordered sternly, seeing the look on his dark features.

"What did I do?"

"God, what didn't you do is more like it?" Alice sighed, "I give you an entire day with her, and what do you do? Go and watch Baseball and go to the beach?" No wonder she picked vampires over you that time around. Show a girl a good time at least." Jacob blushed.

"What would you have suggested then?" Alice raised an eyebrow, and Jacob blushed.

"No!"

"Come on, I know you entertained the idea..." Jacob shook his head furiously, Edward began to nod sadly behind him. Alice smirked."At least you're human."

"That's...no." Jacob continued to looked astonished and the petite instigator of the situation sighed.

"Why not?"

"because then this would be M rated."

"You have a point..." Alice shrugged, turning to her brother.

"You. Stop lurking in corners like a rapist!" Edward retreated from the shadow once more and frowned.

Bella looked on in confusion. Was anyone going to clue her in on what was happening? She had a feeling she'd be the last to know, annoying, as it seemed to involve her. Mostly her. Just her, really.


End file.
